17 of our most anticipated fantasy and sci-fi books of 2024
By Daniel Roman
Fantasy Author @Nnedi Okorafor Announces Who Fears Death Prequel "Get the scoop on She Who Knows, a prequel to the author's World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death, and more!" @Gizmodo https://t.co/R2X7yGsB2W
— DAW Books (@dawbooks) February 15, 2023
SHE WHO KNOWS: FIRESPITTER by Nnedi Okorafor — August 20
Fans of the multi-award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor are in for a treat this year: Okorafor is returning to the world of her novel Who Fears Death with a trilogy of prequel novellas, titled She Who Knows. Who Fears Death is currently in development at HBO as a TV series with A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin attached to produce.
Who Fears Death is an Africanfuturist novel that follows a woman named Onyesonwu, a woman born of a horrific act who learns she has access to powerful magic. She Who Knows is the story of Onyesonwu's mother Najeeba. The first volume, Firespitter, begins with Najeeba at the young age of 13. Over the course of the series, we'll learn more about her life, and the events that led to the birth of Onye.
“I’ve wanted to write this story for over a decade,” Okorafor told io9. “It’s been dwelling in my head like a living storm. If you thought Onyesonwu from Who Fears Death was intense, wait until you truly meet her mother. Phew!”
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
THE LAND OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD by Shauna Lawless (Gael Song #3) — September 17
Kicking off the fall is The Land of the Living and the Dead, the third and final volume in the Gael Song series by Shauna Lawless. Gael Song melds Irish folklore and history with a story of two women engaged in a secret, centuries-long conflict between the mythic Tuatha De Danann and the Fomorians. It takes place right around the same time in history as The Last Kingdom, and features the sort of political struggles you might expect, except with a stronger dose of magic.
The Land of the Living and the Dead wraps up the story for Fodla, a healer and agent of the Tuatha De Danann; and Gormflaith, a long-lived and capricious Fomorian with designs on the human kingdoms of Ireland. The two have circled each other for some time, each working in their own secretive ways to bring about their goals. With only one book left, it's likely that things are about to come to a head between them and the forces they represent.